Jewelry Box
by kirin-saga
Summary: A collection of Kaito-centric ficlets, which may or may not be connected. Formerly known as Unconnected Collection.
1. Chapter 1

**Author: kirin-saga  
Fandom: Magic Kaito  
Rated: G  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters.  
Summary:A collection of unconnected Kaito ficlets.  


* * *

**

**Numb**

Kaito stared vacantly at his bedroom wall, trying to ignore the faint sound of his mother's crying coming from just outside his door. She had told him to get some rest, that she would bring him something to eat and they would talk, but he could tell that she didn't even make it a few steps before it all came crashing down on her. She had tried to be so strong today, tried to keep her own Poker Face from shattering when they were told the news, and even now she was trying to be quiet in her grief. She didn't want him to hear her break and he felt too numb and tired to even attempt to cheer her up so he tried to pretend he didn't hear anything.

Finally though, he heard her struggle to her feet and head down the hall to the stairs. He listened as she entered the kitchen and clumsily began opening cabinets in search of something to eat. He hoped she didn't go to too much trouble making dinner tonight. He really didn't think he could keep anything down right now.

Sometimes Kaito wondered what his ancestors had done to anger the gods so much that they were still being punished for it. His father had been murdered, he himself had nearly been several times and he was on a seemingly never ending quest for a magical gem that he would likely die in trying locate. Kaito almost laughed at that. If it wasn't one thing trying to kill him, it was another.

He would have to plan another heist soon. Something a bit less complex than his usual performance as he didn't really feel up to it, but the deadline had just gotten a whole lot closer. He needed to check as many gems as he could while he was able. Wouldn't _that_please his favorite critics? More chances to try to catch him, while trying to discover the reason for his increased activity? Increased desperation and increased recklessness?

Kaito had to laugh at the image that brought to mind, but the laugh was hollow and slightly hysterical and he turned and buried his head in his pillow to muffle the sound. Everything was crashing down and he was running out of time. And there was nothing he could do about it.

So he just laid there on his bed, staring blankly at nothing, and idly wondered which would kill him first: a sniper's bullet or cancer.  


* * *

**Children**

"So how did _you _get out of attending the gathering?" Puck asked, curious as he watched the other Fae playing with Alexander. The toddler seemed to like his new playmate.

Kaito smiled as he turned a white feather into a blue and silver butterfly, much to Alexander's delight, and glanced at Puck. "Because of Pandora." Another feather turned into a kitten with white scaled wings who was quickly - though gently; he had been taught to be gentle with animals - wrapped up in the child's arms. The sound the kitten made sounded more like rain falling than purring, but just as soothing and Alexander cooed sleepily as he pet the tiny creature.

Puck wondered if he could convince Kaito to let Alexander keep it. And if the child's parents would mind. "Pandora?" he asked, trying not to get distracted by his charge. "The woman, the box, or the jewel?" He didn't think it was the woman; despite her place in myth, she was mortal and long dead and had no living descendants.

"The jewel." Kaito was making more feathers, of various colors this time, float about the room, more to just have something to do with his hands this time than to entertain the dozing child and kitten. "It was why Lady Titania gave me to that human family, so I could either help them find it, or find it myself." He sighed. "It's difficult though. Wherever it is, it's shielded pretty good so I can't just home in on it like I can other magical objects humans have gotten their hands on." He frowned, the feathers swirling around him. "I hope it doesn't take too much longer. I want to go home."

Puck new that feeling. He himself missed Avalon. But he was glad he had gotten out of attending the Gathering. He may miss his home but he didn't want to be _trapped _there for a thousand years. He didn't think Kaito would want that either, but Kaito was still a child and likely didn't realize that returning to Avalon wasn't the best idea at this current time. Ah well, he'd learn.

In the meantime, he wondered if he could get Kaito to agree to teach Alexander some of that sleight of hand he used to disguise his magic. Being able to cast spells in front of mortals, without the mortals realizing what he was doing, was a very useful skill. Maybe Kaito could come visit as well; get out of Japan, see the world, and check America's gems while he was at it. It'd be fun.

He wondered if Kaito had ever met a Gargoyle.  


* * *

**Menace**

It was all anyone was talking about. You couldn't turn on the television or pick up a newspaper without seeing or hearing the words Mutant Menace. All over the world people were panicking over this perceived threat, over these so-called monsters. And Japan was one of the worst. Mutants weren't humans in Japan, not even enhanced or gifted humans. They were Demons, or so most believed. Everywhere you looked you saw people buying, selling, or making protective talismans. Everywhere you turned there were people looking at each other with suspicion. It was horrible.

But it had been tolerable, at least until recently, because unless you had an obvious physical mutation, it was easy to hide if you were careful. All you had to do was not use your ability in public. There were accidents of course, which didn't help public opinion, but those were luckily few and far between.

Now though, the government had finally decide to do something about it's 'Demon Problem'. Everyone was required to take a blood test to determine whether or not they were human, and they were starting these tests in the schools. Most of the students were annoyed by this. Kaito though... Kaito was terrified.

The public hadn't been told beforehand about these tests so Kaito had been caught off guard when he and Aoko had walked into school this morning and had been immediately ushered over to some kind of nurse. Aoko had looked a little ill at the sight of the needles but hadn't otherwise looked concerned for herself, though she'd glance every so often at Kaito.

Kaito had very nearly panicked when he realized what was going on and if it hadn't been for Aoko's concerned looks, and Hakuba quietly shaking his head at him from where he stood at another table, Kaito would have probably done something very stupid. Like tie everyone up in ribbons and escape in a poof of pink smoke while everyone was distracted. It was a very good thing he hadn't; it would have only made things worse.

Not that things could get much worse. Kaito knew what he was and his friends - hell, his whole _class _most likely - suspected and Kaito didn't know what happened to those identified as mutants other than the fact no one saw them again. Damn it, he had enough to worry about without having to deal with _this _as well.

But he had to deal with this, and soon. It was only a matter of time before they got the results back on his blood work. Then he'd disappear like so many others if he couldn't find a way to escape, find someplace to _go_. But no one was allowed to enter or leave Japan without going through a similar test...

Kaito didn't know what to do.  


* * *

**Hollow**

Kaito sometimes felt like part of him was missing. There was this... hollow feeling deep inside him, as if someone had reached in and stolen something. He didn't know what this something was but he knew he needed to get it back. And though he didn't know what he was searching for, he felt that he would find it one day. A piece of yourself can't be missing forever he hoped.

He had once told his father about this feeling. He had expected his father to try to cheer him up as he usually would whenever Kaito was upset, but this time... he had given him this look. Like he wanted to apologize for something. Instead, he had given Kaito a hug and had told him that it would be returned to him one day. Kaito hadn't really understood.

That had been a week ago. So many things could change in a week. His father was dead now, killed in an accident during one of his magic shows. His funeral had been this morning and Kaito's mother had spent the day crying when she thought Kaito wasn't watching and trying to pretend everything was fine when she knew he was there. Kaito had stared at her tear stained face and felt hollow.

It was night now, hours past his bedtime and he could hear his mother crying again. He wanted to go to her but knew she would just scold him for being up, so instead he sat in his window and stared at the sky as he listened to her.

The hollow feeling was stronger today and he knew some of it was the normal feeling, but the other part was grief. He missed his father. His father would know what to do to get everyone around him to stop crying.

Kaito couldn't hear his mother anymore and thought she must have fallen asleep. He didn't move to go check on her like he had briefly considered and instead leaned against the cool glass and stared up at the full moon.

Kaito's eyes glowed faintly red and he wished that he could cry.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's four more ficlets! I really hope you like them!

* * *

**Crumble**

Despite what he wanted everyone to believe, Kaito didn't always feel like smiling. He rarely felt happy enough to smile for real anymore, though it didn't make his fake ones any less convincing. He had learned from a master after all.

Sometimes though, even the fake smiles were impossible to maintain. On these occasions, he skipped school. Sometimes he faked sick. He did so so rarely that even if his mother didn't believe him, she let him get away with it and left him alone until he felt like getting out of bed. Most of the time when he didn't feel up to going to school, or even facing his mother, he went to one of Kid's safehouses. He'd curl up on the floor in the corner and would think over everything that was going wrong, everything that he'd failed to do.

These... episodes were happening more often. The school had already called his mother about his frequent absences. She hadn't confronted him about it, likely believing it had to do with his night job. Planning a heist or researching possible gems or something.

Kaito pulled out his cellphone, dialing a number from memory. He... really wished she'd confront him about it. He needed her to.

He put the phone to his ear just as the person on the other end picked up.

_"Suicide prevention helpline."_

He really needed her to.

* * *

**Humans**

Humans were so confusing sometimes and Kaito didn't think he'd ever fully understand them. Not that that was surprising considering the only time he really had contact with them was when he went shopping or during his heists. Hakuba didn't count; the blond was only half and even he couldn't figure out what his father's people were thinking.

Sometimes Kaito wished that Ekoda High allowed full humans to attend so he and the others could understand them better. It would be very useful to know exactly what to expect once they graduated and had to live and work amongst the mortals.

Other times, like when he followed Hakuba to a murder scene and saw up close just what humans were capable of, he was very very glad he only had to deal with them during heists, shopping, and the occasional school field trip.

* * *

**Fanservice  
A/N: Shounen-ai**

He had bought it for Kaito to shut him up. Really, Kaito had been talking non-stop since they had left school twenty minutes ago and it was getting annoying. Honestly, Hakuba had no other motive, no matter how... interesting it was to watch Kaito licking at the popsicle. He wouldn't admit to anything else because there was nothing else to admit to.

Kaito thought it was kind of cute and mildly annoying that Hakuba was so in denial. Because, really, if all Hakuba had wanted was to shut him up, he would have allowed Kaito to pick his own treat instead of ordering this particular one for him. Not that Kaito really minded. It was a hot day and the popsicle was cold and sweet and rather tasty. And Hakuba's reactions were rather amusing.

Kaito stuck the popsicle in his mouth, pretending to ignore Hakuba's sudden squeak. Maybe if he ate it slowly, Hakuba would buy him another one. It _was _rather good and putting on a show for Hakuba was a small price to pay for free ice cream.

* * *

**Self**

"My name is Kuroba Kaito. I'm 17 years old and am a student at Ekoda High School. My father was a magician and my mother was a nurse before she quit her job when I was born. My best friend is Nakamori Aoko. My other friends are Hakuba Saguru and sometimes Koizumi Akako when she's not being creepy. This is the truth and it will _always _be the truth.

"So why do I have to repeat this every morning? Why do I have to be reminded that Aoko is my best friend and I've known her for years? Why do I go to bed some nights wondering who the woman in the kitchen is? Why is it that, if I'm Kuroba Kaito, when I look in the mirror all I see is you?"

Kid had no answer.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: Interesting  
Author: kirin-saga  
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters you'll find in canon.  
Warnings: None  
A/N: This one got kind of long so it got it's own chapter.  
___________________**

Kaito had had an interesting night and didn't really know what to do about what he had discovered. His father was an internationally wanted criminal. Kaito had never even suspected his father was Kaitou Kid and Kaito didn't know whether to be proud that his father was the man who was believed to be the greatest magician in Japan (if not the world), or upset that his father had never told him. Did his father think he couldn't keep it a secret? And did his mother know?

Actually, she likely did. He couldn't see his father hiding something this big from her.

Kaito frowned at that thought, shooting a brief betrayed glare towards his father's painting before returning to his task of looking through Kaitou Kid's - his father's - workshop. There was junk everywhere, mostly crammed on every available shelf but quite a bit was piled on the floor. It was like a pirate's treasure room or something.

The image of his father wearing an eye patch and saying "Arrrrr" amused Kaito for a few moments and he carefully moved random items to the side in hopes of finding anything that would explain _why _his father was an internationally wanted thief. He wasn't having much luck in that regard, though he was finding a lot of components for various magic tricks. Even if he never learned why his father was a thief, he'd be happy with those.

Kaito sighed as he picked up a sealed vase and carefully began to set it aside, but paused when he felt a slight vibration coming from it. He frowned and lifted it up to his ear. It was definitely vibrating and was making an extremely low humming sound. And it was warm?

Kaito blinked and sat the vase in front of him, studying it closely. Now that he was really looking at it, he recognized it as a vase that used to sit in his parents room. His mother had told him that an old friend of his father's from overseas had sent it to him as a wedding gift. Not surprisingly, Kaito hadn't found much interest in the story and his mother had only told him because she had seen him trying to get a closer look at it. It had pretty pictures on it. Hieroglyphs, he knew now.

The vase had also disappeared a few nights before his father's final show. He must have moved it to his work room for some reason.

Kaito stared at the vase for a few long moments, mentally going over all his options, before curiosity overrode common sense and he lifted the vase's lid. There was a brief hiss of escaping air, a faint sound of movement, then something shot out at him, hitting his face with the force of Aoko's mop.

He blacked out.

***

Kaito woke sometime later, lying on the dusty floor and with a rather disgusting taste in his mouth. The empty vase was lying a few inches from his head, looking deceptively innocent. As if it hadn't just tried to kill him.

_I wasn't trying to kill you, Kuroba-kun. I try to avoid killing if possible._

And the killer vase was talking to him. Great. He was insane now.

Someone laughed. _I am not the vase. And you are not insane. _The laughter stopped, the disembodied voice becoming suddenly serious. _And I apologize for not asking permission before... Well, I'm afraid it was necessary. Time is running out. I was afraid you wouldn't find me in time._

The not-a-vase voice was apologizing for trying to not-kill him? Ok, then. Kaito really needed to get up off the floor and go tell his mother he had spontaneously developed schizophrenia. Hopefully she'd believe him this time.

_This time? _Funny, that sounded like he wasn't supposed to hear it. _No matter, I suppose I had better show you. It worked for your father after all._

His father? What did- Oh... wow. There were hallucinations now. With a distinctly Egyptian theme. And spaceships oddly enough. Kaito saw what seemed to be over a hundred years worth of battles and death, conquest and rebellion, and in the hands of a young woman being guarded by an army of men with metal helmets, a glowing red jewel.

Then he saw events more recent, Kaitou Kid heists from the Kid's point of view. Laughing and taunting the police and men and women in black clothing. And once again, that glowing jewel. What?

_The Pandora Gem is the creation of a race of being called the Ancients. It extends human life by an extremely large margin. Armies have fought and killed for it. Many have died defending it. Whoever owns the jewel owns the worlds, Kuroba-kun. Or so it is believed._

Oh. That... wasn't good, was it. Bad Ancients, creating something so dangerous.

The voice laughed at that. _Yes, bad Ancients. Fortunately, Pandora has a safeguard. It can only be used to extend life once every ten thousand years. All other times, it is simply a powerful healing device._

This was all very interesting, but why was the voice telling him this?

_You're smart, Kuroba-kun. I'm sure you can figure it out. You are, after all, your father's son._

Kaito had really been hoping that wasn't it. He loved and idolized his father, but he wasn't sure he wanted to be a thief like him.

_Don't worry about that, Kuroba-kun. I'll take care of everything._

Kaito didn't know whether he felt relieved at that promise or not. "Who are you, anyways?" Oh look, he had found his own voice finally. Yay. And he really hoped the not-a-vase voice answered differently that he thought it would answer.

Not-a-vase voice ignored his thoughts this time, choosing instead to answer his verbal question.

_My name is Khalid, formerly of the Tok'ra._

Kaito started to relax.

_But you may call me Kaitou Kid._

Yep, he had definitely had an interesting night.


	4. Chapter 4

My internet has been going in and out these past few days so if I haven't responded to your review for _Interesting _yet, I will do so when I respond to reviews from this chapter.

**A/N: Yeah, there's more shounen-ai here. Also, words in bold are English (not counting the titles, of course).**

**Crush**

It was no surprise to Kaito that he was more attracted to guys than girls. Most would say it was because of his love for crossdressing, something he had enjoyed since he was a young child and had never really made an attempt to hide from those close to him. Truthfully, people would have been surprised if he was straight.

But really, he was a teenage boy. If he was going to be interested in girls, crossdresser or not, he would have had at least one wet dream about them. But no, not a one.

That's not to say he hasn't had any dreams. He _is _a teenage boy after all. He just wasn't having them about girls. He also, to his mild surprise, wasn't having them about Hakuba, tantei-kun's teenage self, tantei-han, or some random guy in class. He also wasn't having them about a favorite teacher or a generic fantasy guy. And since he often found himself thinking about this guy - well, ok; daydreaming - he couldn't convince himself it was nothing more than hormones.

But that was ok. Embarrassing slightly, because of who the guy was. And never going to happen, because of who the guy was. Understandable and he had no problems keeping this a secret. No one had to know and no one, especially _that _guy, would ever, _ever _find out.

Of course, keeping his crush a secret would be a whole lot easier if he could look at Aoko's father without blushing.

* * *

**Neechan**

**A/N: Pre-MK by several years.**

"Hey, Neechan."

Aoko blinked and slowed her walk, glancing curiously at the boy behind her.

Kaito rarely called her neechan; he didn't like people knowing he was younger than her. Even Aoko often forgot he was two years younger than everyone else in class, having already skipped two grades when she had first met him.

So when Kaito called her neechan, she knew it was serious. And judging by his expression, confusing for him as well. "What is it?"

Kaito frowned, obviously struggling to decide whether or not to actually ask her. Odd, Kaito usually never hesitated to speak his mind. Aoko smiled encouragingly and Kaito finally spoke. "You're a girl, right?"

Aoko twitched. "Of course I am silly." She laughed nervously and really hoped she wouldn't have to give her twelve year old friend the Talk. She couldn't think of anything that would be more embarrassing.

Kaito looked even more confused. "Then why don't I like you? I hear a lot of guys at school talking about what they've done with their girlfriends and none of it sounds interesting. So is it an age thing or is something wrong with me?

Aoko wondered if Kaito knew that what those boys said was pure fantasy. Then she briefly wondered if she should buy Kaito earplugs so he wouldn't hear things he was too young to know. Finally, though, she said, "Nothing's wrong with you, Kaito. It's an age thing." An age thing she really didn't want to explain. It was humiliating enough when she had had to sit through the explanation last year. She refused to go through that again.

Kaito only looked mildly satisfied with that answer. "But if it's an age thing, why do I like sensei's comics that she thinks are hidden in her desk? Shouldn't I be too young to like those too?"

Sensei was a yaoi fan. The realization struck Aoko with mild horror. Kaito found no interest in listening about boys and girls having sex, but liked reading about two boys. Not that there was anything wrong with that. It was just... why was he asking _her_? Did she look like an authority on the subject?!

But Kaito was waiting almost patiently for her to answer and she almost hoped he was just joking about the whole thing. But he just looked at her expectantly and she sighed.

It looked like she had to give him the Talk after all.

**A/N: Kaito refuses to tell me if he was honestly confused or if he just wanted to see Aoko's reaction. I guess we'll never know.**

**

* * *

  
**

**What?**

"You are not a marsupial!"

Hakuba paused in his reading and stared blankly at the front of the room for a brief moment before turning to find Kaito pointing at him. And staring accusingly for some odd reason. Hakuba blinked in confusion. "What?"

Kaito pouted and slumped in his seat. "You're British, not Australian, so you can't be a marsupial." The pout grew and was that a _tear _in his eye? "It's not fair."

The Australia comment made the marsupial thing make a bit more sense, but still... "What?"

Kaito leaned forward, looking worried and oddly comforting. "But that's ok. You can keep your pockets. I'll even call you **koala**-san if you want."

How did he even manage to wrap his tongue around a word like _**koala**_? And _where _did this subject even _come _from? And most importantly... "What are you _on_?"

Kaito just grinned.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: Ever After  
Author: kirin-saga****  
Fandom: Magic Kaito****  
Word Count: 1507  
Rated: PG-13  
Warnings: Can be seen as shounen-ai; tragedy  
Summary: They were looking for a little girl.  
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that you recognize as canon.  


* * *

**

They were looking for a little girl. Three years old and always laughing, always carrying her yellow fish plushie, Flounder from the english movie The Little Mermaid. Her mama had shown her the movie several times and she loved watching all the colorful fish. She took Flounder everywhere.

They were looking for a little girl. Three years old and doing her best to play quietly with Flounder in her mama's lab so she wouldn't be noticed and get her mama in trouble. She wasn't supposed to be there but the babysitter had to go away today. Her mama had told her the babysitter had been bad and probably wouldn't be coming back. That was ok though. The babysitter was boring and wouldn't let her have pudding for dinner. She didn't mind if the babysitter never came back.

They were looking for a little girl. Three years old and screaming as she clung to her mama's arm, begging her not to leave her. Her mama had done a bad thing, she told her and handed her a small notebook. Her mama had done a bad thing and had to go away now, just like her babysitter had to go away. And how she would have to go away too if she didn't let go of mama's arm and go with the nice man in white. She didn't want to let go of mama, wanted to go with her, but the nice man pulled a flower out of her ear and turned it into a butterfly. She tried to catch it when it landed on her nose. Her mama laughed and pet her hair. Mama gave her a kiss and told her she was sorry she didn't have time to find Flounder. Then mama was gone and the nice man in white smiled sadly at her.

They were looking for a little girl. Three years old and trying not to cry as the nice man's wife cut her hair and brushed something stinky in it to lighten the color. Her blue-black hair she had gotten from her mama was gone now and she had chocolate brown like the nice man in white. She had new clothes too, dark colors with pictures of robots and ninja and samurai, and a new name. She didn't know yet that she had a new mama and a new papa as well.

They were looking for a little girl. Four years old and Kuroba Kaito was not a girl. She didn't know why she had to be a boy now but it didn't really matter to her. Her birthday had been a few days before and she had gotten lots of toys - boy toys - and beginner's magic tricks. Boy toys were loud and had funny faces and she laughed as she banged them together, just like she had seen boys do on tv. Her new mama had gotten her a small doll too, but she was a boy now and couldn't play with it. She put it on her shelf though, where she could see her. She really was a very pretty doll.

They were looking for a little girl. Seven years old and Kuroba Kaito was not a girl, though his parents let him wear girl clothes if he wanted to. His father taught him all about disguise and how to change his voice and that when he was older, he'd have to make his voice deeper like other boys. Kaito didn't know why he'd have to make his voice deeper, but he promised he would. Just like he promised to only play with boy toys where others could see. He still had his doll on his shelf though. She had pretty blue black hair, just like the nice lady in the white coat he could barely remember.

They were looking for a little girl. Thirteen years old and Kuroba Kaito was not a girl. He knew he was though, she had learned the difference years before when she had asked her parents how he could be a boy if she didn't have boy parts. They had told him how, but not why, and had asked him - her? - not to tell anyone, not even Aoko. So she - he? - hadn't. Now though he didn't know if she could keep it a secret. Her body was changing, in a different way than a boy's changes, and something was happening to her that didn't happen to boys. It was confusing and it hurt and she didn't know what to do about it, so she did nothing and just laid on her bed, staring up at the doll on her shelf that she had never played with.

They were looking for a girl. Seventeen years old and Kuroba Kaito was not a girl. She really was though and it was getting harder to hide it. The bindings made it hard to breathe and when she was cranky and in a mood, he didn't have an excuse like girls did. He was a jerk and a pervert and Aoko had caught him sneaking into the girl's locker room again. It wasn't like the girls were anything she didn't see every morning in the shower, but Aoko didn't know that. Hakuba might though - he had gotten accidentally grabby one night at a heist - and always turned away whenever she got shoved into the boy's locker room. Which was a real shame. She wouldn't mind seeing what he had.

They were looking for a girl. Eighteen years old and Kuroba Kaito both was and was not a girl. It was much more difficult to hide it now, and she had Hakuba to thank for that. Hakuba knew she was a girl, though no one else but her mother did. It had been nice at first, not having to hide that part of herself from him, but they were both teenagers and it really wasn't a good idea for a teenage girl to not hide herself from a teenage boy. The baby was due in eight months and she didn't know what to do.

They were looking for a girl. Eighteen years old and Kuroba Kaito was a girl, seven months pregnant and on the run from the very people who had killed her birth mother. The same as those who had killed her adoptive father. She had found her birth mother's little notebook, full of names and dates and chemical equations, in her father's work room, wrapped in a toddler's blue dress. They knew who she was now. She had changed her name and left Ekoda before she had started to show, but they had still found her. She only hoped she lived long enough to save her baby.

They were looking for a girl. Three years old and always laughing, always carrying her yellow fish plushie, Flounder from the english movie The Little Mermaid. Eighteen years old and nine months pregnant, huddled in an empty, dusty house belonging to one of her favorite critics, she couldn't help but think of the story she had used to love as a child. She hadn't watched it since she had become afraid of fish, but once she did force herself to read the book. She could understand why Disney had changed it. Disney was happily ever after, but that's not how it was in real life. In real life the mermaid lost the prince and fell into the sea knowing she would die.

They were looking for a girl. Eighteen years old and the exhausted mother of a crying newborn girl. It was difficult giving birth without help, but she had managed and she smiled when she saw her daughter's blue-black hair, just like the doll on her self, and the woman in the lab coat she could barely remember. She couldn't stay much longer she knew, the crows would find her before long, but she wanted as much time with her baby as she could have. She had already left a message on her critic's cell phone, telling him he needed to come to his house. She could trust him and his family with her baby. She kissed her daughter's sleeping face. She really couldn't stay much longer.

They were looking for a girl. What they found was a creature out of a faery tale, laughing and taunting them as she led them farther and farther from her most precious treasure, before she threw herself into the waters below. They searched the depths for her body and her mother's notebook. They found nothing. Not even a speck of foam.

They were looking for a girl. Eighteen years old and dead before her time, she left behind a newborn daughter and her mother's little notebook. The doll with the blue-black hair that she never played with now wore a red jewel and lay trapped beneath the waters. The mermaid lost the prince and threw herself into the sea. A tragic ending. But maybe her daughter would get the happily ever after she never knew.


	6. Chapter 6

**Winter**

Kaito didn't usually mind cold weather, but before now his only experience had been Japanese winter. Winter in England he could do without, though it did give him a good excuse to burrow into Hakuba's coat while the detective was still wearing it.

**Summer**

Kaito really wished he was somewhere else right now. He had no idea how he had let his friends talk him into going out on a boat in fish infested waters. Hakuba was sure how they had managed it either but he vowed to never do it again. It had been amusing at first how Kaito had cowered in the middle of the deck but now they were all anxious to get back to shore before the boy had a heart attack.

**Birth**

Kaito had been so tiny, so frail when he was born that no one expected him to survive his first night. But he had proved himself a fighter and seventeen years later his mother could scarcely believe he was the same sickly child she had brought home from the hospital.

**Death**

The day Kaito had been told his father had died, he hadn't believed it and had sat in the living room waiting for him to come home just as he always had. And always would.


	7. Chapter 7

**He Had It Coming**

**Word Count: 228  
A/N: I like him well enough, but I just had to get it out of my system. Also, I'm taking requests. See notes at end for details.**

**By the way, my internet keeps going in and out and when I have it, it seems to only last a few minutes. Which is why I keep disappearing. If I owe you an e-mail *looks at StargateNerd* I'm sorry for seemingly ignoring you.  
****xxxxx**

The day they had found Conan's body, dark bruises on the pale skin of his neck, no one could find it in themselves to be surprised. Or upset really. Ran made a brief attempt at tears but gave up when she barely managed a sniffle.

Heiji was the one who finally broke the awkward silence. "Well, I guess someone finally got tired of his self-centered know-it-all attitude."

Everyone nodded, even the Shonen Tantei who had been the ones to discover the body. They were playing with some Kaimen Yaiba toys and were only half paying attention to the teenagers around them.

"Shouldn't we try to discover who killed him?" Hakuba asked, only because no one else seemed about to bring it up and he wanted to be on his way. He had a date.

Kaito looked over at him, trying not to smirk. "Do we really want to bother?" he whispered, leaning against the detective. Kaito knew perfectly well who killed him, as did Hakuba. But appearances must be kept he knew; no point in being labeled as an accessory.

In the end, though, everyone decided they didn't care who had killed Conan and they all went on they're separate ways. Save for Hakuba and Kaito, who decided to invite the Shonen Tantei out for ice cream as a reward for a job well done.

xxxx

**A/N: If you want to request a fic, leave a review.**

**Pairings I will write: Kaito-centric shounen-ai (if you want ShinichixKaito, it will be ShinKai, **_not _**KaiShin).  
Pairings I will not write: Het (unless it involves genderbending)**

**Tell me the pairing you want (or tell me a character if you don't want a pairing) and a first sentence. I'm not sure when they'll be posted though, since I'm having internet problems (which is why I disappeared).**


	8. Fractures

**Title: Fractures  
Author: kirin-saga  
Rated: PG  
A/N: Inspired by... well, I'll tell you later. Don't want to spoil it.  


* * *

**

"It's not your fault, Shinichi."

"Of _course _it's his fault, Ran! Murders always happen when he's around."

"Sonoko! Don't say such things!"

"She's right, Ran-chan. Though it's probably Heiji's fault too, the ahou."

A sigh. "Can we please stop arguing about it? I know I'm a body magnet so there's no need to bring it up all the time."

"How many times do I have to tell you it's not your fault, Shinichi? It would have happened whether you were there or not. And you solved it, didn't you? Well... kind of."

"But if he hadn't been there, then it never would have-"

"_You _stay out of this!"

Kuroba Miku slipped into the room, interrupting the argument before it really got heated. Frowning, she looked over the mess in the middle of the usually clutter-free floor. Carefully stepping over her son's cape, she addressed the one who had spoken last. "Ran-chan? What happened?"

Ran frowned worriedly, feeling reluctant to answer as she didn't want to upset the woman. At Miku's pointed look, however, she finally spoke. "There was a murder at the heist tonight."

Miku paled and quickly looked Ran over for injuries, despite not having seen any blood when she had first come in. "Is Kaito all right?"

It was Shinichi who answered. "He's uninjured, though a bit shaken. Hakuba and Hattori are with him; they're the best at calming him down."

Miku sighed in relief; though she still worried, she'd let it go for now. Hakuba and Hattori really were good at calming Kaito down. Still... "I'll call the school tomorrow and tell them he's sick."

Ran nodded. "That's probably for the best, Kuroba-san. I'll make sure he gets to bed all right."

"Thank you, Ran-chan," Miku said as she reluctantly turned to leave, wondering, not for the first time, if she was doing the right thing. How much longer could she force herself to ignore Kaito's problems?

Sighing, she glanced back into the room, at her son sitting alone on the cold floor, arguing quietly in voices not his own.

How much longer would she be able to hide what was wrong with her son?

**

* * *

**

**A/N: Inspired by a chapter of Petshop of Horrors: Tokyo, where an actress literally became the characters she played. So yes, Kaito's identity problems are more serious than just Kid.**


	9. The Right Thing

**Title: The Right Thing  
Author: kirin-saga  
Rated: G  
A/N: Inspired by a show I've never seen.  


* * *

  
**

Kuroba Miku repressed a shiver as she was lead through the sterile facility, pointedly ignoring everyone she and her guide passed as they made their way to an inner office. Not for the first time, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. Toichi wouldn't approve, she knew, but Toichi was six months dead and his task was unfinished. It had to be finished, Miku wanted it all to be over or she would spend the rest of of her life looking over her shoulder, waiting for her husband's killers to come after her. She needed it to end, and she couldn't do it herself. Which had brought her here.

Here was a privately owned research facility located in downtown Kyoto that Miku would have never have known about if it hadn't been for her late husband's contacts. She didn't want to know why this place existed, didn't care to know how many of the people here were here willingly or how many were the subjects of missing persons reports lying forgotten in some dusty cold case file room. She didn't want to care. She just wanted to get who she came for and go home.

"Please have a seat."

Miku almost jumped at the unexpected sound of her guide's voice, glancing at him as he gestured towards a chair that sat in front of his desk. Carefully seating herself, Miku stared at the small stack of files he was straightening. "Are those..."

The man smiled and slid the files towards her, waiting a moment for her to open the top one before speaking. "That's almost everyone that meets the age, gender and physical requirements you requested. I took the liberty of removing those who just coming back from assignment and those that are only useful for the short term as I understand you will be requiring him for an extended period of time."

Miku nodded absently as she skimmed through the first two files, dismissing them after noticing a few flaws in stature and body type. She paused on the third file, staring intently at the subject's photograph. After a few moments of studying the file, she closed it and handed it to the man at the desk. "This one."

The man took it, glanced at the file number, and nodded. "Excellent choice. He does closely resemble the man, which is what I understand the most important qualification." As he had been speaking, he had turned to his computer and and pulled up the subject's main file, inputting the data that would be required for the next stage of this assignment. "As I understand, you already provided us with the history and any other information you want included... save a name, that is." He paused in his typing and looked over at her. "Have you decided on that detail."

Miku took a breath and nodded, thinking about the photo she had just seen, the boy with the messy hair and childlike expression staring curiously at the photographer with innocent violet eyes, and tried once again to tell herself that she had no other choice. Taking another breath, she steadied herself and answered. "Kaito. His name shall be Kuroba Kaito."

The man smiled gently at her, as if he knew she was struggling and sought to comfort her. "Do not worry, Kuroba-san. We pride ourselves on confidentially." He turned and added Kaito's name to the file. "After all, we here at the Dollhouse live to serve."


	10. Poker Face

**Title: Poker Face  
Author: kirin-saga  
Rated: PG-13  
Pairing: Possible Hakuba/Kaito  
Warning: attempted suicide**  
**Summary: Sequel to Crumble  
Word Count: 563  
___________________________**

The problem with Poker Face, Hakuba mused, was that if a person were good enough at it, no one could tell what they were thinking. Or if they were hurting. And the problem with believing someone was Kaitou Kid was that any abnormal behavior could be blamed on their suspected night activities. _'I really should have noticed,'_ he thought as he traced a finger over the hand he held, trying to ignore the bandages on Kaito's arm as he stared at the sleeping – sedated – boy's face.

Someone should have noticed how much Kaito was suffering, if not Hakuba, than Aoko. And if not Aoko than certainly his mother. _'I guess Poker Face fooled us all,' _ he mused, attention turned briefly to the other side of the room as Aoko tried to convince the crying woman that she wasn't a bad mother. She wasn't, Hakuba knew. A bad mother wouldn't have used the hem of her favorite nightgown to try to stop the bleeding while anxiously waiting for the ambulance to arrive. A bad mother wouldn't have woken up in the middle of the night with a strong feeling of dread and gone to check on a son that had been so cheerful just hours earlier. _'Thank god for a mother's instinct.'_

The faint click of the door opening attracted his attention and he turned to see Nakamori-keibu slip into the hospital room. The man looked tired, exhausted, but then it was three o'clock in the morning. He had been speaking to the doctor, having taken over for Kaito's mother when she couldn't calm down enough to answer questions. Nakamori and his daughter had been there since almost the beginning of the emergency, having been awoken by the ambulance's sirens. Aoko had called Hakuba as soon as they knew Kaito was out of danger and she had time to think. He wasn't quite sure why she had called him, or why he couldn't seem to bring himself to let go of Kaito's hand, but he supposed it didn't matter.

Aoko seemed to have finally gotten Kaito's mother to laugh - a broken, tear filled laugh, but a laugh all the same - by saying she would put fish stickers on everything potentially dangerous in the Kuroba and Nakamori homes. Hakuba considered adding some to his own as well, despite the fact Kaito had only been to his house once and that had been for a school project they had been partnered for.

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder and he looked up at Nakamori's face. Nakamori wasn't paying him any attention, his gaze drifting between Kaito's too pale face to the bag of blood hanging from the IV stand, to the heart monitor that let them know that despite how still he was, Kaito was still alive. Hakuba could only guess what the man was feeling. Lost and helpless and guilty like he himself was most likely.

Nakamori sighed suddenly, reaching out with his other hand to gently stroke through Kaito's hair. Kaito twitched and sighed, the sedative beginning to wear off. Hakuba didn't know what to expect when the boy finally woke.

He did know two things though. One, nothing would ever be the same as they were before this night. And two, he was never going to allow himself to be fooled by Poker Face again.


	11. Lessons Learned

**Title: Lessons Learned  
Author: kirin-saga  
Rated: G  
Word Count: 224  


* * *

  
**

The classroom was a mess. Desks and chairs were strewn all across the floor, paper and books covered the floor, and various types of birds fluttered through the air. Large splatters of paint and glitter covered every flat surface, the windows were cracked in interesting patterns, and... there was a squirrel on the teachers desk.

The teacher, hair sticking every which way and clothing rumpled, twitched and glared at her students. Said students were all cowering against the far wall, save for an unconscious Kuroba who lay in the middle of the floor, a guilty looking Nakamori who held a broken mop, an annoyed Hakuba who was checking Kuroba for skull fractures, and an amused Koizumi who was gleefully snapping pictures with a camera she had decided to bring to school that day.

The teacher twitched again and carefully stood from where she had collapsed on the floor. After taking a moment to straighten her clothing and smooth her hair, she felt more in control of herself (meaning she was less likely to strangle anyone) and turned to glare at the group in the middle of the room for a long moment before turning to the rest of her students. "Whoever," she began slowly, "gave Kuroba-kun those chocolate covered espresso beans will have detention for the rest of the school year."

No one objected.


	12. Special

**Title: Special  
Author: kirin-saga  
Rated: G  
Word Count: 303  
Summary: Prequel to Children, an MK/Gargoyles crossover.  


* * *

**

When Kaito, a full blooded Fae, had been born to fully human parents, none of them had known what to expect. It wasn't as if Toichi and his wife had _known _that the child Miku had given birth to wasn't human and wasn't, technically, theirs, but what new parents know what to expect? As for Kaito, he was much too young to know to expect anything. Still Toichi and Miku, armed with parenting books and advice from friends and family, felt more than prepared for whatever parenthood could throw at them.

The fact that Kaito didn't behave as other babies didn't worry them much. After all, no baby ever acts exactly as others do. Still, it was frustrating being awake all night with a child who refused to let the moon out of his sight and who shrieked and cried whenever they tried to close the window and curtains. And walking into the nursery to find all the toys in the middle of the floor when they _knew _they had put them away was rather unnerving, especially since Kaito was much too young to escape his crib, much less open the lid of the toy box. And even if he had somehow managed it, there was no way for him to get _back _in his crib without help.

There were many such incidents, but other than updating the house's security they didn't know what to do about it. And as the incidents never appeared harmful, they just learned to live with the strangeness.

It wasn't until Kaito was three years old, when they had walked into his room to find their son's toys floating in midair while he giggled and made them dance with each wave of his arms, that they realized they couldn't ignore just how special their son was any longer.


End file.
